


Bigger Than Us

by qu33nb33



Series: ducktales! woo-oops! [1]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Adoption, Anniversary, Anxiety Disorder, Gotcha Day, and ptsd, lena has anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 09:50:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15771684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qu33nb33/pseuds/qu33nb33
Summary: It was hard to believe she had already lived with them for a whole year. Actually it was just two weeks before that they had celebrated the defeat of Magica and, of course, the addition of Lena to the family.But what was more, that day, two weeks after the defeat of Magica, was a bit more important to Lena. And, she hoped, it was important to Scrooge as well.





	Bigger Than Us

**Author's Note:**

> okay yeah this is like a oneshot from a place in an au i havent written so is it going to make sense? possibly. but i tried.
> 
> this will probably have a sequel or prequel, i just had to get this written out first tbh. if it doesnt make sense.......i know. im sorry, and i know. but PLEASE i just need more Adopted!Lena interactions!! save my soul..

It really wasn't the hardest thing she had ever done. She had helped defeat her evil aunt, she had returned from the shadow world twice, she had even told the McDuck family the full story of how she came to be. All of that was super hard, and a lot of it she wished she never even had to think about again.

Which is why she glared down at the card in her hands, offended at the current problem she faced.

Two weeks ago they had all had a wonderful dinner to celebrate the defeat of Magica a year ago. Normally they didn't hold such events for things like that, but that day had been important in a lot of ways. Since then the family had their ups and downs, but they had been there for each other through it all. And that included Lena, who still almost cried whenever someone reminded her they were family.

Don't misunderstand, she was still the rebellious teenager who was faster with sarcasm than common sense. But she liked to think that she had a bit more depth, now. Complexity. Not that being a living shadow being wasn't complex itself, but it made her feel a bit better to think so. She still kept Beakley on her toes, and she had almost given Donald several heart attacks in the past month alone. Even Scrooge sometimes looked about ready to pull out his feathers when they spoke.

But it really meant something to her to know that didn't mean anything bad. Sure, they got a bit upset with her sometimes (she still had a bullying tendency, but they all understood she was working on that), but she knew it was temporary and they didn't love her any less for it.

That was a full year of therapy at work, right there.

She placed the card on the bed beside her and crossed her arms with a huff. Her heart pounded at just the thought of giving Scrooge a  _card_ of all things, but she couldn't deny she really wanted him to read the words she had written. That day was important for her, and she couldn't bare the thought of letting it pass without saying something.

The card was relatively plain--she didn't want to put too much effort into it and end up looking like a fool--but it did have  _Thank you_ written very neatly on the front. She was proud of her own hand writing abilities, even if it had taken her eight tries over three hours. Inside she had written about how she appreciated Scrooge and everything he had done for her, and ended the message with "Happy Gotcha Day."

It seemed silly, really, since the day she came home was surely the day she was  _home_. But that day, two weeks later, had been the moment that changed Lena's life. It was the day that Scrooge had quietly--shyly--tracked her down in her room and offered her an envelope. Inside had not only been custody papers (he spared no expense making her an identity, he had assured her) but  _name changing forms._ And behind those were--Oh. Adoption papers. Official, real, Scrooge McDuck Is My Legal Guardian And Family papers. Oh.

"Lena  _McDuck?_ " At first she had thought it was just for those specific papers. Symbolic, or something. But Scrooge had scratched the side of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Now, I know ya may not want to be a McDuck in name, and yer welcome to keep de Spell. Either way, yer welcome here. This is yer home. I just wanted to offer it, if you--"

For only the fourth time in her life, Lena initiated a hug and nearly tackled Scrooge to the ground. She buried her face in his chest and felt him chuckle in relief. He could just make out her muffled, watery, "Thank you." And he hugged her back in earnest.

That was the day Lena wanted to celebrate, if only slightly. She had been a McDuck for a whole year (not counting the time it took for the papers to go through--the moment they were signed she knew it was real) and the thought still made the backs of her eyes burn and her throat swell up. Someone wanted her. Not only that, but it was the man she had spent her whole life trying to take down. Even if it wasn't her doing, and even if he had assured her she was only a child, it still meant the world to her that he wanted her in his life.

But even after a year, part of her was still scared to give him the card that said so. She was scared that she might chase him away, somehow. What if it didn't mean as much to him? What if he only did it because he had promised her he would in the heat of the moment?

She knew, she  _knew_ that wasn't true. She knew he meant it. But her brain just wouldn't stop trying to hurt her. It made her upset. She was going to fight her brain.

She was also going to judge Webby a little less for saying things like that, since obviously she had started to pick it up. Darn.

She sighed and picked up the card. It was a little after five, which meant Scrooge had probably already gone downstairs to investigate what would be for dinner. That would give Lena plenty of time to sneak into his room, place the card somewhere obvious, and sneak back out like the coward she was.

_You've already made the card, that alone was brave. Don't worry about not being able to give it to him, that's just extra._

She could hear her therapist's voice tell her to focus on the things she could and had done. And Mental Therapist had a point; she had gotten this far. All she had to do was walk down the hall, open his door, place the card on the bed, and walk back out. And, y'know, try not to have an anxiety attack while she waited and wondered if he had read it yet.

With a stretch and a sigh, Lena stood up and grabbed the card. She decided to just not think about it, and let her feet carry her where she needed to go. She peeked her head out her door and decided the coast was clear, so she began the walk towards Scrooge's room. The halls were quiet for once, signalling that the others were probably downstairs somewhere. That eased her nerves a bit, since it meant she had less of a chance of running into anyone.

And, sure enough, she made it to Scrooge's room without seeing a single soul. She knocked on the door and hoped no one would answer. When no one did, she cracked it open and peaked inside. No Scrooge. But there was something on the bed that she didn't recognize, which made her incredibly curious.

She tip-toed into the room and placed the card on the edge of the bed. From there she could see the item on the bed a bit better, and saw that it was a wrapped present. It was wrapped in blue-gray wrapping paper, the same color that all of her presents had been wrapped in at Christmas...

But no, she shouldn't assume it was hers. It was plain wrapping paper, so anyone could use it. Plus, a present would mean Scrooge... Would mean Scrooge recognized the day, too. She had hoped maybe he would, or at least say something, but she hadn't counted on it too hard. She wasn't sure if it was an obscure thing to notice and appreciate, and she didn't want to fault him for that.

"Ah, so you found it." She jumped a mile in the air when she heard a voice behind her, and she turned quickly to see Scrooge snicker. "I was just aboutta bring that to you, but it looks like ya beat me to it." He stepped closer to the bed and picked up the present. It was about the size of a phone, but thick like a jewelry box. He turned it in his hands before he noticed the card on the bed as well. 

Lena's eyes widened--she had  _not_ wanted to be in the room when he read it--but he glanced away and held out the box to her. "Here. I didn't know if ye wanted to celebrate today, too, but I've been thinkin' about givin' ya this for a while anyways. Though it seems you had the same idea."

He smiled, and she did too. They were often mutually surprised at how in tune they were, even when they disagreed on something. She took the present and ripped the paper off carefully so as not to make a mess. She turned to lean on the bed and sit as she opened what was in fact a jewelry box. Her eyes widened in shock and awe as she saw the object that laid inside. It was a dark blue gem with a milky coloring to it. She could feel without even touching it the magical properties it had; the familiar hum of magic and taste of electricity hit her immediately but not too harshly. The gem itself was only the size of a half dollar, but she was sure it had incredible power behind it.

She whispered, "What is it?" Still in awe at the beauty of the gem and it's magic.

Scrooge sat on the bed beside her, careful to move her card out of the way so it wasn't damaged. "It's a gem similar to Magica's. It's designed to hold part o'va person's magical energy, so that it can be used to amplify it." He took the gem gently from the box and helped her put it on. The weight of the gem felt familiar and  _alive_ against her chest.

The thought of it being like Magica's gem scared her a bit, but she knew it was harmless. If Scrooge trusted it, so did Lena. She couldn't help but smirk, though, as she looked at him. "I thought you hated magic?"

She wasn't surprised by his response, but she still had to look away, embarrassed, when he shrugged and said, "It's grown on me."

After a moment while she held the gem in her fingertips, Scrooge shifted in his seat and reached behind them. The card. Oh  _no_.

 

"I suppose you were gonna leave this here for me to find, eh?" He held it in his lap, closed, and smiled gently at it. She didn't miss the fondness in his eyes as he rubbed the front of the card with his thumb, obviously itching to open it. He could sense her anxiety, though, and held back as he looked at her.

Lena, for her part, ducked her head and smiled. "Yeah, like you said, I wasn't sure if you wanted to celebrate today, but... I dunno, I wanted to say  _something_ about it, and I--" No, she couldn't say it. Not yet. That was why she wrote the card. If one of the triplets walked in and saw her crying about being family with Scrooge McDuck then she would never live it down. She would have to relocate. Go into witness protection. Lena who?

"You can read it."

"Are you sure? I can wait, if you want." She appreciated it, she really did. But she knew she wanted to see his reaction first hand, to know what he thought before he could say anything.

As soon as she said "I'm sure." He opened the card, and she almost laughed at him. She held it in, though, full of nerves and fear and nervou-citement as Webby called it. She watched his eyes scan what she had written, and played it all back in her head. Was it too cheesey? Did it sound fake? Was this somehow a year-long prank and any second he was going to yell  _sike_ and kick her out?

Wow, anxiety was impressive sometimes.

Out of all of that, though, she didn't expect to see his eyes start to water. Sure, everyone in the family seemed to cry a lot, but over a card? Over--over her? She wasn't prepared for that in the slightest. She thought maybe he would smile, maybe he would hug her, and maybe they wouldn't talk about it again. That was it, the ideal image. But now he was crying and smiling and now she was going to cry and--

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a hug, which she instantly returned. The hug was tight, like he was afraid she would disappear any second, and she returned it full force.

"Thank you, Lena. I agree with everything you said. It's been a pleasure havin' ya here, and our family is all the better for it." He leaned back a bit and she leaned with him, her head on his shoulder. "You never deserved any of what Magica did. And over this year I've gotten to see ya be so kind and compassionate, even when you were raised to be anything but. I'm proud to call ya family."

Okay, she was definitely crying. But it wasn't like she had a response for that, so she only nodded and sobbed into his shoulder.  _Proud._ He was proud of her. She had heard the adults in the family say they were proud of all the kids before, even her, but it felt so real just then. For fifteen years she had wanted someone to be proud of her. She wanted someone to love her. And now she had a whole family, a flock of people who were proud of her and who loved her. It was more than she thought she'd get.

She felt Scrooge hold her tight again, and she happily sat snuggled against him for a few minutes. She had scene those times when he thought he was going to lose Donald or the boys or Webby; she had seen the pain and fear in his eyes even as he scowled. Now, she realized she was up there with them. She didn't know when, possibly the day they took her home, but she had made it to the same place the others were. She thought about the past year and how they had all learned to really get along. It had felt like so much work at times, but looking back it felt right. It felt like family. 

"Thank you, Uncle Scrooge." She said moments later when her tears had almost stopped. 

She heard him hum and he placed a hand on her head to ruffle her feathers and her hair. "Yer welcome, Lena. And you can call me whatever you like."

Her blood ran cold for some reason at the subtle-not-subtle suggestion. It felt like she was asking too much, somehow. Or like she didn't belong all over again. She didn't like change, even if it was something she  _wanted._

"I..." She didn't have a reason, and she didn't want to disappoint him, but she just didn't know what she wanted to do. 

"Take yer time. Or don't. I told ye before, you're always welcome here. Nothin's gonna change that."

She nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat as she buried her head in his shoulder again. "Okay... What's for dinner?"

And he laughed, unsurprised. And she laughed, relaxed. After another moment of hugging they finally got up to head downstairs. "I told Beakley not to make a big deal of it, so it's just spaghetti and some cake for dessert." Her favorite foods. It felt like a big deal to her, but she only smiled and shook her head. He knew.

They left the card on the bed, but later Scrooge would put it in the drawer in his night stand. He would read it sometimes, when he couldn't sleep. Or those not-rare nights when he would wake up, certain everyone had left him again, only to find everyone in bed asleep. He read it three times days later when Lena had tentatively thanked him and added  _Dad_ to the end of her sentence. He read it two more times a month later when Webby, much to her own embarrassment, had also called him Dad on accident.

(He gained a new card a day later, and kept his daughter's cards together in the drawer for years.)

Lena, for all her growth, would never tell anyone that Scrooge keeping the card made her happy. She still had some sense of pride, you know. But every now and then, on the rare occasion she was in his room, she would check the drawer just to see. Just to make sure the card was still there.

 

 

 

\---

Thank You

\---

 

 

 

Dear Scrooge,

Thank you for all you've done. Not just for me, but for all of us. I've seen the way Webby looks at you, and the way the boys talk about you. Even Donald and Beakley adore you. I say this because I think you forget that, sometimes. And I think you don't deserve to forget how much you mean to all of us.

And, yes, to me. Mysterious brooding teenager talking about her feelings here. I'll never forget everything you've done for me. I don't even know how to put into words how I feel. But thank you, for everything. I know to everyone you're Uncle Scrooge, but you're what I've always imagined a dad was like. Sorry if that's weird, but it's true and someone should say it.

Thank you for taking me in. For adopting me, and changing my name. You didn't have to, but you did. Even when I was a threat to your family, you offered me a place in it. That's why we all love you. I love you, Uncle Scrooge.

Sincerely,

Lena McDuck


End file.
